PC Shipments Falter

The slumping economy and pressure
from tablet PC sales contributed to lower
computer shipments during the second quarter,
according to reports by IDC and Gartner.

Gartner reported worldwide shipments inched
up 2.3 percent for the second quarter, while IDC
put the figure at 2.6 percent.

However, shipments in the U.S. market did not
fare as well, falling 4.2 percent, said IDC, with
Gartner pointing to a 5.6 percent falloff.

Neither company includes tablet PCs in its PC
shipment figures; these are tracked separately.

Hewlett-Packard remained the worldwide shipment
leader on both reports, followed by Dell,
Lenovo, Acer, Asus and Toshiba, stated Gartner.
Dell moved back into second place based on
strong Asia/Pacific sales, displacing Acer, which
fell to fourth. Gartner blamed the decline on its
low-price, high-volume business model, which
the research firm no longer considers effective.

IDC’s list mirrored Gartner’s but did not include
a sixth company.

Part of the shipment slowdown was due to the
very strong shipment numbers posted during the
first half of 2010.

Gartner also fingered U.S. consumer spending
and tablets as soft spots.

“Given the hype around media tablets such as
the iPad, retailers were very conservative in placing
orders for PCs. Instead, they wanted to secure
space for media tablets. Some PC vendors had
to lower their inventory through promotions, while
others slimmed their product lines at retailers,”
said Gartner’s Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst.

HP retained the top spot, shipping 4.5 million
units, a 1.2 percent dip, for 26.9 percent of the market.
Dell was second, with 3.8 million units shipped,
down 9.8 percent, for 22.6 percent of the market.

Gartner had Apple as the top performer for
the second quarter, with shipments increasing
8.5 percent to 1.8 million, or 10.7 percent share.
Toshiba also did well, increasing its shipments 3.3
percent to 1.6 million for 9.6 percent of the market.
Acer’s U.S. figures reflected its worldwide
performance, with shipments falling a tremendous
22.6 percent to 3.5 million for a 9.3 share.

IDC’s top five U.S. leaders matched Gartner’s
list, with the same companies posting increases
or decreases in units shipped.